1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack which is formed so that it can be attached to and detached from an electronic apparatus and in which battery cells for supplying driving electric power to the apparatus main body is contained.
2. Description of the Related Art
As portable electronic apparatuses such as digital still cameras and camcorders, there have widely been used those which are provided with a battery mounting portion such that a battery pack loaded with battery cells is attached thereto and detached therefrom by the user himself. At the time of using such an apparatus, a previously charged battery pack is attached to the battery mounting portion, and, when the battery has run down, the battery is replaced with a separately charged spare battery pack, whereby the apparatus can be used for a long time.
As this kind of battery packs, a plurality of kinds of battery packs different in capacity are prepared, to be used selectively according to the use. For example, in a business-use electronic apparatus, the one-run use time is longer and the use frequency is higher, as compared with a private-use electronic apparatus of the same type; therefore, only a battery pack with a higher battery capacity is desirably mounted in the business-use electronic apparatus.
Accordingly, it will be convenient to ensure that which of the battery packs differing in capacity has been mounted can be discriminated on the electronic apparatus side, that the non-compatible battery pack cannot be mounted to the battery mounting portion, or that an alarm is issued to the user on the electronic apparatus side when the non-compatible battery pack has been mounted.
[Patent Document 1]    Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-320341